While attending the French Culinary Institute, we were challenged to create a final project which was to include original recipes for a themed 5-course meal. My theme was “Gifts & Surprises” as I had given myself the gift of investing in culinary school, and boy, was it a surprise, as to how tough and grueling it was…but oh so rewarding.  Each dish I created was made to look like a present. 

In Europe, salad is served after the main meal, as it aids in digestion. In the plant based world, we suggest eating the salad first, as it satiates hunger and aids us in losing weight because we start to get full before the main, more caloric entree.

Either way, this is a beautiful way to serve a salad!

For the Salad :

• 36 large large endive leaves (about 6 heads)
• 2 heads radicchio 
• 1 head red leaf lettuce
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 yellow bell peppers 
• 2 bunch scallions 
• 2 Leek greens, cleaned and blanched until tender

For the Dressing :

• ½ cup parsley leaves
• 2 large shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 scallions, white and light green parts,roughly chopped
• 4 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 TB red wine vinegar
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

For the Salad :

For the Dressing :

To Serve :